According to a report from Reuters this morning, Asiana Airlines has come to its senses.
Asiana executives have changed their minds, and will not sue KTVU for its report on July 12 that erroneously identified the pilots of Asiana Flight 214 with offensive names.
Reuters reports that Asiana's statement reads: “Asiana Airlines has decided not to proceed with the case since KTVU has issued a formal apology and in order for us to focus all our efforts on managing the aftermath of the accident."
KTVU did the right thing by promptly apologizing for its erroneous report. Asiana threatened to sue after KTVU apologized.
Today, Asiana did the right thing by deciding not to sue ... even though it should never have made the threat in the first place because it had no basis to sue and KTVU had already apologized. See my post of July 15.
First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America
First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Showing posts with label KTVU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KTVU. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
Asiana's absurd threat to sue TV station for defamation
Asiana Airlines announced this morning that it will sue KTVU, a San Francisco Bay Area television station, for incorrectly reporting the names of the pilots of Asiana Flight 214 that crashed July 6. A lawsuit would be beyond ridiculous and has no basis in the law.
On Friday, July 12, an anchor on KTVU reported, while showing a graphic onscreen, that the names of the pilots on Asiana's Flight 214 were "Sum Ting Wong", "Wi Tu Lo," "Ho Lee Fuk," and "Bang Ding Ow." It is not clear how KTVU got these fake and offensive names, but they were actually confirmed by an intern at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The station and NTSB have already apologized for the error.
Asiana now threatens to sue for defamation, claiming that its reputation was harmed by the broadcast. Twitter is bursting with comments that carry the same basic theme: it was the plane crash that hurt your reputation, not KTVU's broadcast.
The names were offensive, and someone was playing a prank, but let me be very clear: Asiana has no lawsuit here.
First, there is no harm, at least none Asiana would ever be able to show in court. The broadcast was promptly corrected. People are not going to stop flying Asiana because it supposedly employs a captain named "Sum Ting Wong," but they may well stop because of a crash landing. Asiana would have to prove that they suffered harm because of KTVU's broadcast separate and apart from the crash. No chance that will work.
Second, Asiana -- which is undoubtedly a public figure because, among other things, it advertises extensively and is heavily regulated by governments across the globe -- would have to prove actual malice (i.e., that KTVU knew or had reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of its broadcast). Asiana will not satisfy that burden, which requires clear and convincing evidence. KTVU confirmed the names with the NTSB and then promptly corrected the error. Those two things alone gut any possible showing of actual malice.
Third, a prank is not a statement of fact and a defamation claim requires a statement of fact.
There is more that could be written, but let's wait and see if Asiana follows through on its threat before wasting more time on this nonsense.
On Friday, July 12, an anchor on KTVU reported, while showing a graphic onscreen, that the names of the pilots on Asiana's Flight 214 were "Sum Ting Wong", "Wi Tu Lo," "Ho Lee Fuk," and "Bang Ding Ow." It is not clear how KTVU got these fake and offensive names, but they were actually confirmed by an intern at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The station and NTSB have already apologized for the error.
Asiana now threatens to sue for defamation, claiming that its reputation was harmed by the broadcast. Twitter is bursting with comments that carry the same basic theme: it was the plane crash that hurt your reputation, not KTVU's broadcast.
The names were offensive, and someone was playing a prank, but let me be very clear: Asiana has no lawsuit here.
First, there is no harm, at least none Asiana would ever be able to show in court. The broadcast was promptly corrected. People are not going to stop flying Asiana because it supposedly employs a captain named "Sum Ting Wong," but they may well stop because of a crash landing. Asiana would have to prove that they suffered harm because of KTVU's broadcast separate and apart from the crash. No chance that will work.
Second, Asiana -- which is undoubtedly a public figure because, among other things, it advertises extensively and is heavily regulated by governments across the globe -- would have to prove actual malice (i.e., that KTVU knew or had reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of its broadcast). Asiana will not satisfy that burden, which requires clear and convincing evidence. KTVU confirmed the names with the NTSB and then promptly corrected the error. Those two things alone gut any possible showing of actual malice.
Third, a prank is not a statement of fact and a defamation claim requires a statement of fact.
There is more that could be written, but let's wait and see if Asiana follows through on its threat before wasting more time on this nonsense.
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